Seth Brigham, a former candidate for the Boulder City Council and a local activist, is arrested by city police officers while speaking during public comment time at a Feb. 16 council meeting. Brigham stripped to his underwear and began criticizing some council member when he was arrested.

A Boulder city councilwoman said Monday she thinks the city violated the First Amendment rights of a longtime critic by cutting him off while he was speaking during public comment at last week's council meeting and then having him arrested when he protested.

Councilwoman Lisa Morzel said she wants a full review of the Feb. 16 arrest of longtime council critic Seth Brigham, whose microphone was turned off in mid-sentence before he was arrested and charged with obstructing police and trespassing at the Municipal Building.

That review, Morzel and other council members said, also should determine who scratched on a microphone to obscure Brigham's comments and just who was responsible for having Brigham removed.

Brigham, 43, stripped down to his boxer shorts at the meeting -- to make a point about the recent proposal to criminalize nudity in Boulder, he said -- and began talking about Councilman George Karakehian's policy to keep the doors to his downtown business open in the winter and Councilwoman Suzy Ageton's campaign contributions.

Mayor Susan Osborne twice asked him not to make personal attacks and to get to his point. After he told the mayor that he was making his point, the city shut off his microphone and an officer stationed at the meeting arrested Brigham when he refused to leave.

"I think his First Amendment rights were violated, that's my opinion," Morzel said. "I think we never want to shut out the public. They have a right to come and speak."

She said that during her 11 years on council, "I've seen much worse incidents" than what Brigham did -- but never before has someone been arrested for criticizing elected officials.

"I, personally, would like to see the charges dropped," she said.

The scratch heard round the city

Morzel and other city officials are also troubled that someone, apparently a council member, scratched on a microphone while Brigham was speaking. The noise could be heard washing out Brigham's voice both in the council chambers and on Boulder Channel 8, which broadcast the meeting live.

"That scratching was really obnoxious, and it could have only come from the dais," Morzel said. "I find that really offensive. From my perspective, that is deliberate censoring."

Councilwoman Crystal Gray agreed, saying she wants to know who scratched on the microphone and why the decision was made to turn off the audio recording as Brigham was being led out of the room in handcuffs.

"That was just absurd," Gray said.

She called for the council to discuss open meetings laws with the city attorney at an upcoming meeting.

City Clerk Alisa Lewis said Monday that she was responsible for turning off the microphones in the council chambers. She said she hit a "kill switch" for the audio system -- not because of what Brigham was saying, but out of concern that whoever was scratching on the microphone would damage the sensitive equipment.

"The microphones are extremely expensive," she said. "It sounded like someone was really messing with the mic."

She said she regrets that the audio from a critical moment in the confrontation with Brigham wasn't captured, and said that in the future the microphones wouldn't be turned off for any reason.

She said the city manager and the city attorney will prepare a report on the incident that will likely be released today.

'OK, eject him'

Some council members agreed that the leaders also need to have a discussion about who has the authority to direct city police to remove someone from a council meeting.

The council earlier this year agreed that the mayor should manage its meetings. But some council members said newcomer Karakehian was the one who motioned for the officer to intervene.

Karakehian did not return a phone call seeking comment on Monday, but Gray said she saw him motion to the police officer.

"It looked like George leaned over and gave him the thumbs up like, 'OK, eject him,'" Gray said. "I have a very strong feeling that if anybody is going to give police direction to eject someone ... it should be the mayor."

Osborne said it was never her intention to have Brigham removed from the room.

"I remember feeling a little surprised when I saw the policeman going across the dais," she said. "My only intention was to turn the conversation to be more civil and to be more direct about what the issues were."

Morzel's position 'one point of view'

Brigham, who faces misdemeanor municipal charges of obstructing police and trespassing, said Monday that he's hired Boulder attorneys Chris Griffin and David Moorhead to represent him in his criminal case, and potentially in a federal lawsuit against the city.

Moorhead said his firm is still evaluating its options for a potential civil suit.

Asked whether he thinks some on the City Council deliberately tried to silence him, Brigham said, "I absolutely believe that."

Because Brigham was ticketed under municipal code, the final decision on what charges to pursue falls on acting City Attorney David Gehr, who said that his office is "studying the First Amendment issues" involved in the case.

He said that, despite Morzel's comments that she thinks the city stomped on Brigham's rights, "I think it's one point of view of nine" council members.

Although he and the municipal judge are among the council's three employees, Gehr said the elected leaders do not have the power to tell them how to handle the criminal case.

Christopher Beall, a Denver attorney who specializes in First Amendment issues and who has represented the Camera, said he hasn't heard of any Colorado cases involving the arrest of a person who was speaking during public comment time.

A civil lawsuit, he said, would probably focus on "whether enforcement of a rule, the rule being 'no personal attacks on council members,' violates the First Amendment."

Criticism a cost of getting elected

In a letter to the council, former Councilman Steve Pomerance suggested that if the group's problem is really about the public making personal attacks during public meetings, it should consider a new rule that people can only speak about issues involving the city or the council.

"Of course, with this as the rule, you may experience from time to time the sting of some biting commentary," he wrote. "But, as I think you would agree, that's the cost of getting elected and having the power to really affect people's lives -- you better be willing to hear what people have to say."